Lymington Society Summer Garden Party

NOW RESCHEDULED TO THURSDAY 27 JUNE DUE TO WEATHER

Pimms, Prosecco and Canapés in a historic Lymington garden

If you love Lymington come to the Lymington Society annual garden party and find out more about the Lymington Socieity

New members joining on the night or before will be given free entry to the Garden Party so feel free to bring friends or guests too

This year we are pleased to be returning for this first time in many years to the beautiful gardens of Moore Blatch Solicitors at 48 High Street, Lymington.

Full refreshments will be served with Pimms and Prosecco and delicious canapés from Di Morley the well known and excellent caterer - so promising a really good party atmosphere.

Number 48 High Street has had huge significance in the history of Lymington and especially Georgian Lymington. With its magnificent Georgian facade, this imposing building known until the 1950s as Bellevue House when it was listed Grade ll* in 1953, was constructed in 1765 as the town house for the Burrard Family of Walhampton who made their fortune, as did many others from the salt trade for which Lymington was famous.

In 1828 the house became the home of Charles St Barbe who with his two brothers ran the Lymington Bank which their father Charles had started in 1788. The St Barbe Family also made their money from salt and the family were a driving force in the town for much of the 1800s, donating for instance the funds for the National School in New Street which is now know as St Barbe Museum and Art Gallery.

The wonderful gardens behind Bellevue House are extensive, as reflects the size and position of this important house whose gardens extend for a long distance down the slope towards the south.

Starting with a large formal lawn directly behind the house, the garden then consists a large number of smaller garden “rooms” with beautiful herbaceous borders. Paths wind down the slope linking the various smaller gardens with a profusion of beautiful flowers which are currently in full bloom.

A big greenhouse with extensive potting and some more exotic plants completes the experience of looking round this wonderful garden which we are sure members and guests will enjoy.

The Lymington Society

The Lymington Society is what is known as a Civic Society or a Preservation Society and was formed in 1967 by a group of local people led by Peter Hope-Jones who also helped set up the Lymington Centre.

They felt that the need existed for a Society to help local residents protect the community from unsuitable developments and to provide a focus for local people to raise their concerns about a wide range of issues affecting life in the town.

The Society is a member of Civic Voice which is the national organisation for Civic and Preservation Societies. This brings many benefits to the Society and to members and more details can be found on their website.

Over the years, the Society has been involved in many planning issues in its role in protecting Lymington from unsuitable developments. Highlights include helping prevent building in the historic Iron Age hill fort at Buckland Rings, appearing at the Public Inquiry into the new Wightlink ferries introduced in 2010 and obtaining Grade II listed building protection for the Master’s House in the grounds of the Victorian workhouse at East Hill.